Profit and Lace
' |image= |series= |production=40510-547 |producer(s)= |story= |script= Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler |director= Alexander Siddig |imdbref=tt0708582 |guests=Henry Gibson as Nilva, Jeffrey Combs as Brunt, Max Grodénchik as Rom, Aron Eisenberg as Nog, Cecily Adams as Ishka, Chase Masterson as Leeta, Tiny Ron as Maihar'du, Sylvain Cecile as Uri'lash, Symba Smith as Alura and Wallace Shawn as Grand Nagus Zek |previous_production=Valiant |next_production=Time's Orphan |episode=DS9 S06E23 |airdate=13 May 1998 |previous_release=(DS9) Valiant (Overall) One |next_release=(DS9) Time's Orphan (Overall) Hope and Fear |story_date(s)=Unknown |group="N"}} (2374) |previous_story=Demon |next_story=One }} Summary Grand Nagus Zek and Ishka, Quark and Rom's mother, arrive on the station to announce that, thanks to his relationship with the proudly feminist Ishka, Zek has added a new amendment to the Ferengi Bill of Opportunities giving females equal rights. Unfortunately, this has plunged the entire Ferengi society into chaos, Zek has been deposed as Grand Nagus, and Liquidator Brunt is now Acting Grand Nagus — a position that will become permanent in three days. Sure that Ishka's amazing business sense will win them over, Zek invites the commissioners of the Ferengi Commerce Authority to the station, but cola magnate Nilva is the only one who agrees to a meeting. Brunt arrives on the station and threatens to liquidate Quark and Zek. This prompts Quark to angrily confront his mother, who has a heart attack. While Bashir assures everyone she will survive, Ishka will be unable to meet with Nilva — leaving Zek without a Ferengi female to prove gender equality is a good idea. With no other choice, Quark allows Bashir to temporarily turn him into a female. The procedure transforms Quark into a lovely female they call Lumba, and thanks to the hormones, an emotional wreck. Between crying jags, he studies his mother's notes and practices walking and talking like a female. When Nilva arrives a day early, Zek enlists Nog to distract the commissioner. Nilva insists on seeing Zek immediately. On the way, he and Nog run into Brunt, who spills the beans about Ishka's condition. Nog leads Nilva to Rom's quarters, promising him a meeting with Zek's other female advisor, Lumba. Instantly smitten, Nilva decides to take Lumba to dinner. Quark is charming, easily convincing the commissioner that equal rights for females will expand the Ferengi economy. Unfortunately, he is so charming that Nilva invites him back to his quarters. While Quark desperately fends off Nilva's romantic advances, Brunt suddenly bursts in to tell Nilva that Lumba is actually a male. Quark slips out of his dress, and his hormone-enhanced body convinces his suitor that he is all woman. Nilva promises to do everything he can to ensure Zek remains Grand Nagus, and Quark, having gained new insight into the female psyche, wins back his now-recovered mother's love. Errors and Explanations Internet Movie Database Plot holes # Ferengi culture seems to have developed a well-defined sense of female fashion, highly distinct from the way males dress, which is odd in a culture where women have never been able to wear clothes. This could have been developed in secret. Nit Central # Callie Sullivan on Wednesday, March 31, 1999 - 4:03 am: What on earth was Bashir thinking of by agreeing to perform this surgery? "Listen, doctor, Moogie's in your recovery room and so we need you to turn Quark into a woman so that we can continue to exploit the rest of the Ferengi." And he agrees to do it? Come to think of it, is Ferenginar even a member of the Federation, in which case wouldn't the Prime Directive apply? I don't know if the Ferengi are part of the Federation or not - but whatever, it doesn't seem the sort of job that a Federation doctor would agree to undertake without very good reason - certainly not just for the benefit of a few people. Mike Konczewski on Wednesday, March 31, 1999 - 6:52 am: Why not? At this point in the future, cosmetic surgery seems to be done on an outpatient basis. I can't count the number of times Kirk, Picard, Riker, etc., has had their features surgically altered to look like an alien. They never seemed upset with the idea, and they were also returned to their correct appearance, no worse for wear. I also doubt that Quark got a complete sex-change; it was probably no more complicated than breast implants and hormon injections to supress facial hair. I'd also like to point out that Quark is an alien. We don't know anything about the appearance or gender-specificness of his race's genitals. Perhaps the male and female Ferangi genitalia are very similar, so Bashir was in essence just performing small cosmetic surgery, on par with a facelift or a tummy tuck. In and out in 20 minutes. ScottN on Wednesday, March 31, 1999 - 9:28 am: I don't think the Prime Directive applies to warp-capable civilizations. Seniram Besides, Having someone like Brunt in charge of the Ferengi Alliance could have potentially destabilised the Alpha Quadrant. # Keith Alan Morgan on Sunday, May 02, 1999 - 7:58 am: Nog is only wearing one pip instead of the two that he received in the previous episode. dotter31 on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - 7:41 pm: Perhaps Starfleet did not recognize the rank conferred upon him by the Red Squad captain(who disobeyed orders and was under the influence of drugs), or only viewed it as temporary, given what happened. Torque, Son of Keplar on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - 10:34 am: It's hard to recognize any promotion when the Captain doesn't submit any papers to Starfleet Command. # At the beginning, Quark sexually harrasses a Dabo girl. At the end Quark realizes that this was wrong, but then the girl admits that it sounded like fun. Was anyone else bothered by this bit of alledged comedy? ("Oh, sexual harrassment's okay the the harrassee is into it!") Ratbat on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 7:35 pm: Does anything, sexual or otherwise, count as harrassment if the 'harrassee' doesn't mind? Don't you actually have to get annoyed for it to count as harrassment? Nove Rockhoomer on Saturday, July 05, 2003 - 11:17 am: It seems to me it would still qualify as harassment because you don't know if the Dabo girl is really into it or pretending to be into it so she can keep her job. Remember, she wasn't so enthusiastic when Quark first brought it up. # Anonymous on Wednesday, July 18, 2001 - 4:49 pm: In the prior episode Nog was supposed to personally deliver a message from the Federation council to the grand nagus. I guess after what happened with the Valiant and it's crew of red squad cadets the council decided not to send Nog to Ferenginar because in this episode Rom introduces Nog to the Grand Nagus for the first time. Nove Rockhoomer on Saturday, July 05, 2003 - 5:50 pm: When Rom introduces Nog to the Nagus he says, "You remember my son Nog, don't you?" So they met at some point, but I don't know when. Dan Gunther on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 6:36 pm: Zek met Nog in the first season episode, The Nagus. He expressed disbelief and outrage that Nog was attending a school on the station, run by a hew-mon female. Notes Category:Episodes Category:Deep Space Nine